Countries That Changed Their Time Zones (And Why)
Time zones seem permanent, like borders on a map. But countries change them more often than you'd think — for economics, politics, or national pride. Here are some of the most notable time zone changes in recent history.
Samoa: Skipping a Day Entirely
In December 2011, Samoa moved from the eastern side of the International Date Line to the western side. The result? Friday, December 30, 2011, never happened. The country went straight from Thursday, December 29, to Saturday, December 31.
The reason was trade. Samoa does most of its business with Australia and New Zealand, which are 21 hours ahead under the old system. That meant when it was Friday in Samoa, it was already Saturday in Sydney — and when Samoa opened for business on Monday, Australia had already moved on.
By switching sides, Samoa aligned its business week with its biggest trading partners. The downside: Samoa lost a day of its citizens' lives (and had to make up the wages for December 30).
North Korea: Pyongyang Time (UTC+8:30)
In 2015, North Korea created its own time zone — UTC+8:30 — breaking away from Japan Standard Time (UTC+9). The official reason was to remove a reminder of Japanese colonial rule (Japan occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945).
They switched back to UTC+9 in 2018 as a goodwill gesture during diplomatic talks with South Korea. So North Korea has had three different time zones in the last decade.
Venezuela: From UTC-4 to UTC-4:30 and Back
Venezuela used UTC-4 for decades. In 2007, Hugo Chávez moved the country to UTC-4:30, claiming the change would give children more sunlight in the morning. Critics pointed out it was really about differentiating Venezuela from the US.
In 2016, the country switched back to UTC-4. The official reason: the half-hour offset was causing energy shortages (people were staying up later and using more electricity).
Turkey: Abandoning DST for Good
Turkey used to switch between UTC+2 (winter) and UTC+3 (summer). In 2016, the government decided to stay on UTC+3 permanently — essentially adopting summer time year-round.
The result is that winter sunrises in eastern Turkey can be as late as 8:30 AM, while summer sunsets are past 8:00 PM. People have mixed feelings about it.
Russia: Constantly Shifting
Russia spans 11 time zones, and the government has repeatedly reorganized them. In 2010, the number of zones was reduced from 11 to 9. In 2014, some were restored. In 2016, more changes were made.
The constant shifting creates confusion for a country where a train ride can cross three time zones.
Why Do Countries Change Time Zones?
The reasons usually fall into three categories:
- Economics: Aligning business hours with trading partners (Samoa, Venezuela)
- Politics: National identity, breaking from colonial history (North Korea)
- Energy: Saving electricity by maximizing daylight hours (Turkey, among others)
Whatever the reason, changing a time zone is a massive logistical undertaking. Every schedule, computer system, and travel itinerary has to be updated. It's not something countries do lightly.
If you're curious what time it is in any of these countries right now, search for the city on our homepage.